Santa Ana’s Discovery Science Center is looking for actors to portray Elmo, the Sesame Street character, in their upcoming “Sesame Street Presents: The Body,” exhibit, which starts on January 29, 2011, through May 1.

No puppet experience is necessary, actors will be trained by the exhibit personnel on how to properly portray the character.

The Elmo character will be making appearances daily and the actors will have the opportunity to interact with children of all ages.

Actors are required to sign on for a specified contract, but it does not have to be for the entire length of the exhibit. The term is negotiable.

The Elmo actors may be male or female, 18-49, any ethnicity, 5’2″ or shorter. They must be people friendly and not claustrophobic, very outgoing and not afraid to approach guests in character.

Note: Due to the nature of working with children, you are required to complete a fingerprint/background investigation prior to employment. The livescan is no cost to you and will only take a short amount of time to complete.

Email your picture and resume to: dromano@discoverycube.org. Actors will be paid for their work.

MSNBC aired a new documentary, part of “Lockup” series, called “Wake Up Call”: Orange County, last night, which featured life inside the Orange County Jail. Here is how they described the program in their press release:

California conjures images of well-manicured neighborhoods and a surfer culture that gave birth to the Beach Boys, and has existed ever since. But blending seamlessly into the heart of one of its busiest neighborhoods is a reminder of the county’s other side. Inside Orange County Jail, confinement takes a dark turn for a light-hearted teenager, but provides a new beginning for an old bank robber. And a mother who has put drugs before her son gets another chance.

You can watch this program, if you missed it, on Dec. 31, at 9 pm, on MSNBC.

As we close out this year, I would like to set a better tone going forward. We think our readers value our political coverage, but we also feel that we can accomplish those means in a better way – by not resorting to more snarkiness than is required.

To that end, we are going to end the use of the phrase “Usual Suspects.” We have often used the phrase “Usual Suspects” to refer to a group of community leaders here in Santa Ana who have consistently used City Hall to attack our immigrant community. Over the years they have used our local government, consistently, to make life hard for the many Mexicans and Central Americans who live here in town. Their actions have included:

Erecting barricades in French Park, to keep the Mexicans out

Making it illegal to dry laundry outside

Greatly limiting the number of garage sales our residents can conduct

Trying to make human signs illegal

Trying to make it illegal to deliver flyers to our doorsteps

Putting bear locks on trash cans in one particular neighborhood, to keep the poor from gaining access to recyclables

Getting rid of the nets on certain basketball courts so as to prevent their use

Trying to make it illegal to play soccer on certain park fields

Suing the city to stop developments that include affordable housing

Celebrating Halloween on a different night and turning off the lights on Halloween. I will let you figure that one out.

I think you get the point. Over the past few years however there has been a real change at City Hall as we now have an all-Latino City Council that does not support such actions. As such I no longer see a need to use the phrase “Usual Suspects.” There are less of them now than ever – and by January they will all be gone from our City Commissions. Moreover, none of them have even a remote chance of being elected to our City Council. We are free at last.

I urge these people to now put aside their past hatreds and learn to work with the City Council and with the community at large for the betterment of our city. It is time to move on folks.

We will do our part by ending the use of the phrase “Usual Suspects.” And we will endeavor to cover our political scene in a kinder fashion. Let us all then work to make things better here in Santa Ana. Don’t just complain – please let us know what YOU think our city leaders should do to foster positive improvements at City Hall.

Our suggestions for making Santa Ana a better place for our working families include:

Making the Santa Ana Zoo free on all Sundays, not just one Sunday per month, for our city residents

Opening the public libraries later during the week, at 12 noon, so that they can be open on Sundays too

Adding more garage sale days so our poorer residents can make some money getting rid of stuff they no longer need

Offering a Planning Holiday – so our residents can improve their homes without paying planning fees. The caveat would be that they would have to buy all their supplies at stores located in Santa Ana and would have to use contractors based here in Santa Ana. This will add to our tax base and help create more jobs

Using vacant retail spaces in town to house micro-libraries that would offer desks and computers with Internet access, and a way to order books from the main library by using a daily courier. We could also offer our local police a desk at each micro-library, so they can stop by to do paperwork and interact with local children.

I hope you all had a great Christmas Eve and are enjoying your Christmas Day.

My family attended the candlelight service at First Baptist, over on 17th, near Flower. Then we headed for home, to a wonderful dinner I cooked and tamales my sister in law brought. We had so many kids at home!

It is the tradition in my wife’s family to open the presents on Christmas Eve, except for one present from Santa that each of our kids receives. So we had fun watching everyone open their presents.

This has been a rough year for us, but we found a way to make sure everyone got something. And our relatives helped. Christmas, for me, isn’t the gifts but rather the chance to be with family and friends and to celebrate the birth of Christ.

If you would like to see more of the pictures I took last night, click here.

I know that many of my friends here in town are not Christians – but my message to each of you is that the values Christ gave us are worthy of your embrace, even if you choose not to believe. He asked us to forgive one another. To be kind to one another. To take care of the needy and to protect the children. Those are laudable goals, for everyone.

Merry Christmas to all! Now my family is going to drive to Sun City, which is near Hemet, to see my mom and my sister and my nephews and nieces.

May the New Year be a blessed one for all of us here in the City of Santa Ana.

We started a new decade this year – and a lot of political change came to Santa Ana in the previous ten years. We now have an all-Latino City Council. Candidates with names like Franklin, Bist and Christy are no longer electable in Santa Ana. But they were at the start of this decade. Let’s take a look at what happened in Santa Ana politics, starting in 2000.

In 2000, Brett Franklin got 20,370 votes as he won reelection to Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council with 43.7% of the vote. That would be his final term on the Santa Ana City Council. That same year, Claudia Alvarez defeated Nancy Lutz, in Ward 5, by just over four thousand votes. This would be Alvarez’ first term on the Santa Ana City Council.

In 2008, Alvarez backed the successful Measure D, which extended City Council term limits to three terms. She will term out in 2012. It is likely that SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna will take her seat. By then, Alvarez might be appointed to a judicial bench, or she could end up running for the SAUSD School board, essentially trading places with Reyna.

Franklin termed out in 2004, and he ran that year for Area 1, on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education. He came in last place, with less than 18% of the vote. He got less votes than some unknown guy named Reuben Ross. Alfredo Amezcua won a seat on that board that year, with over 54,000 votes. He later had to resign from that seat, allegedly because he did not live in Area 1.

In 2002, Lisa Bist won reelection to Ward 2, handily, with over 65% of the vote. Alberta Christy won in Ward 4, and Mike Garcia won with over 42% of the vote, in a very crowded field, in Ward 6.

That same year, John Palacio and Audrey Yamagata-Noji won reelection to the SAUSD School Board. But Lupe Moreno, a known Minuteman, barely lost to Yamagata-Noji by about 500 votes. Moreno got more votes than Nadia Maria Davis, who lost but later married Bill Lockyer. Davis won a County Supervisorial race this year, in Alameda. Palacio and Yamagata-Noji were reelected again this November. Some things never change!

In 2004, Jose Solorio easily won reelection to Ward 1 on the Santa Ana City Council. He did not finish the term. Two years later he ran for the 69th State Assembly District, which had been held by Lou Correa. Solorio thoroughly beat an underfunded student Republican, Ryan Gene Williams, who later changed his name to Ryan Trabuco.

Another newcomer won a seat on the Santa Ana City Council in 2006. David Benavides won that year against Nelida Yanez, in Ward 4. Benavides replaced Christy, who termed out. He won reelection this year with no problem as he ran unchallenged.

In 2006, council outsiders Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez also won, in tight races that saw them defeat better-funded insiders. Two years later, Martinez challenged Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. She lost but then joined Pulido’s team. She is now an integral part of the City Council majority, as is Tinajero.

Neighborhood activist Thomas Gordon entered the local political scene in 2006 as well. He ran, unsuccessfully, against Pulido, for Mayor of Santa Ana. He did win a seat on the OC GOP Central Committee in 2008, and he was reelected to that seat this year. He was supposed to run this year for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council, but he did not collect enough nomination signatures. That is too bad as he would have made the race more interesting.

The last decade also saw the rise of Latino Democrats in our local legislative seats. Correa served in the 69th Assembly District from 1998-2004. He then won a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, where he served from 2004-2006. He left the Board of Supervisors to run for the 34th State Senate District, which was vacated by Joe Dunn, who termed out.

Dunn served in the 34th State Senate District from 1998 to 2006. He went on to serve as the head of the California Medical Association. Last year he started the Voice of OC, a watchdog news blog. He still serves on their Board of Directors. He also started a law firm, in Sacramento, that also engages in lobbying. While he is mostly in the shadows today, he remains very influential in Orange County politics.

Correa was not the first Latino to win a legislative seat in Orange County. He was predated by Loretta Sanchez, who abandoned her married name, Brixey, after losing a race for an Anaheim City Council seat in 1994. Two years later she defeated Bob Dornan in the 46th Congressional District. She now serves in the 47th Congressional District.

Speaking of firsts, Janet Nguyen moved from the Garden Grove City Council to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, after Correa won in the 34th State Senate District. She is now the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and she just had her first baby. Her main competitor in the local Vietnamese Community, Van Tran, lost this year against Sanchez. He also termed out of the 68th Assembly District, where he was replaced by Allan Mansoor, the former Mayor of Costa Mesa.

Nguyen will likely redistrict her seat this year, moving to make it more Republican. She may end up running against one or more Santa Ana City Council Members. That will be most interesting!

One of the Santa Ana City Council Members, Vince Sarmiento, is likely to run for the 69th State Assembly District, where Solorio is terming out. Solorio is likely to have to wait two years for Correa to term out of the 34th Senate District.

The one constant in the past ten years has been Pulido, who easily won reelection as Santa Ana Mayor this year. That means he will start yet another decade in office. He wisely moved to the left last year, leaving his closest competitor, Alfredo Amezcua, in the dust. Pulido will leave office when he wants to.

What will the next decade bring? I suspect that we will see the first Vietnamese American elected to the Santa Ana City Council, perhaps as soon as 2012.

If Dianne Feinstein retires from the U.S. Senate in 2012, Sanchez will likely run for her seat. If Sanchez moves on, Correa will surely run for her seat. He will likely face Tran, or maybe even Nguyen? The congressional seat will be hotly contested to be sure.

I also believe that the last Republican on the Santa Ana City Council, Carlos Bustamante, is a marked man. He openly campaigned for Tran this year, against Sanchez. The local Democrats won’t take that lying down. He is surely toast. His seat comes open in 2012.

In 2012, SAUSD Trustee Rob Richardson will have to run for reelection. He won a seat on the SAUSD School Board in 2003, after Nativo Lopez was recalled that year. Will Richardson finally lose in 2012? It isn’t likely, but then again, it is a new decade. Who knows what is in store for Santa Ana in this decade?

The problems that are being incurred by the downtown businesses can’t be blamed on Downtown Inc., the restaurant association, Mike Harrah or the PBID. The problems they are incurring are being caused by a lack of consumers shopping in their businesses. The downturn in the economy plays a role in this as does many of these shops lack of a proper business model. Another major factor is the redevelopment of the Lacy Neighborhood and the surrounding area.

The removal of the residents from this area in order to proceed with the agressive redevelopment plans that the city leaders have envisioned took a huge chunk of the consumer base right out of the downtown area. Many of those folks that were within walking distance of the Fiesta Marketplace and Calle Cuatro are no longer there and that has most definately had a major impact on consumer activity in the area.

The redevelopment plans by the city have been scaled down some but they are still moving forward with a terrific project called the “Station District” which will bring in new residents to the area and build up a consumer base for the businesses in the area. The project would be much further along already and we would be closer to a revitalization of the downtown were it not for a lawsuit brought by the “Coalition of No” calling itself Friends of Lacy.

The downtown businesses should be out in full support of the “Station District” and put pressure on these litigious folks to get out of the way of progress. Oddly some of the same downtown businessmen who are now protesting the PBID and blaming it for the economic problems facing the area are also closely allingned with those standing in the way of moving the “Station District” forward. They are essentially acting as their own worst enemies.

There is no reason why our downtown area can’t become a thriving economic success in the same fashion that Old Pasadena has. Old Pasadena and our downtown area both have such incredible charm, beautiful architecture and unlimited potential. Pasadena is achieving that potential because the businesses are buying into the plan set forth there, one that is not that much different than that of Downtown Inc’s.

Now I am not saying that we should replace our current businesses with a bunch of trendy corporate one’s, but we do need to help these folks create a business plan that will attract a wide consumer base rather than one targeting a small nitch. We have businesses that fit this model already, Calacas is a prime example of this.

However the best medicine for the downtown is consumer growth and we can definately get that by increasing the number of consumers living near and around the downtown area. That starts by supporting the “Station District” and the residential development that comes with it. This will be a winner for the business owners and for the city’s tax base in general.

Residents may receive emergency alerts on their cell phones and e-mail addresses by registering online at www.alertoc.com. The phone numbers registered will be called only if the registered address is affected by an emergency situation. More evacuation information is available at prepareoc.org.

If you have any access or functional needs call, the Public Information Hotline at (714) 628-7085. Residents are encouraged to monitor local news outlets for the latest information.

Armando de la Libertad ran for the State Assembly in 2006, in the Democratic primary. Although he did not win, he went on to make a big impact in our community as the Senior Vice President of Community Development at Wells Fargo’s Social Responsibility Group.

Yesterday de la Libertad announced another big move. He is leaving Wells Fargo to become the new Executive Director of Santa Ana’s Delhi Center.

I know de la Libertad has the vision and the connections to really make a big difference at the Delhi Center. Congratulations to de la Libertad. I look forward to writing about the Delhi’s activities here at the New Santa Ana blog, next year.

Here is de la Libertad’s email announcement:

Friends:

An amazing 11-year journey is coming to a close. My last day with Wells Fargo will be Thursday, December 30, 2010. By March 2011, I will be taking on my next challenge: Executive Director of the Delhi Center. I plan to enhance Delhi’s multi-service approach with an in depth focus on asset-building and community development (that is, helping individuals, families, and neighborhoods move along the asset-building continuum, from poverty to financial stability and success). I’m excited about the prospect of collaborating with you in a new way, and I hope to work with you again very soon. During my transition, the best way to reach me is at libertad@post.harvard.edu.

From this point forward, please direct all Wells Fargo business to Vivian Pham at Vivian.Pham@wellsfargo.com.

Thank you for all of your support over the years. I wish you and your loved ones the Happiest of Holidays,

Armando de la Libertad
Senior VP, Community Development
Wells Fargo Social Responsibility Group

Free rides are being offered on the Lunch Express Trolley Bus in Santa Ana on Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00am to 2:00pm, with trolleys running every twenty minutes. The Trolley Bus will be available this week on December 23-34, 2010.

Hop on the free Trolley and head to Downtown for an express lunch! That’s right, from the Civic Center to the Artist Village, Original Mike’s and more, the trolley is heading to all your favorite establishments.

I have nothing against Santa Ana City Attorney Joseph Fletcher, who is either retiring or getting the boot, depending on who you talk to. But the fact is, he dropped the ball this year.

Fletcher is supposed to shield both the City of Santa Ana and the City Council from liability. He failed to do the latter this year when three Council Members accepted donations that represented conflicts of interest – and Fletcher did nothing to prevent that from happening.

As soon as those Council Members got in trouble I knew Fletcher was toast. And he got quite a parting gift. According to press reports he will get $140,000 plus vacation time and other benefits. Cha-ching!

But that money will pale in comparison compared to what City Manager Dave Ream will get if he is nudged out the door, which is why I don’t think he is leaving, yet.

Instead, the Council will likely allow Ream to stay – and I doubt he will leave until Father Time punches his clock one last time.

Is it too early to start talking about Ream’s legacy?

Ream has been our City Manager forever, it seems. Love him or hate him, he is going to leave behind a changed city. Amongst his accomplishments:

Medians along 17th St. that we did not want and did not need. These medians will keep costing our city, and our taxpayers, a fortune, in perpetuity, to maintain. However, they do serve as a moat for the folks who live in Floral Park, so I guess there is an upside for them.

A widened Bristol St. that primarily serves Mater Dei High School. Not done yet. May not be done in Ream’s lifetime. A whole lot of money spent here. Most definitely questionable!

The Artists Village. Ream, along with the City Council and Mayor Miguel Pulido, made this happen. It has worked to a certain extent, to change our downtown, but now the artists are feeling the squeeze. This chapter is far from over.

A very nice city yard – that cost a bundle. Some say the costs for this yard were buried in our public works budget.

New developments that focused on fairly high-cost townhomes, lofts and towers, such as the CityPlace and the Santiago Lofts.

A nice soccer complex at Centennial Park.

Repaved streets!

A posh police station and jail

The highest water prices in Orange County

We kept the U.S. Court of Appeals

We lost a lot of big retailers to other nearby cities

It should be noted also that Ream has worked very hard to dig our city out of a big budget sinkhole.

When we finally get a dog park I think we ought to name it after Ream…

(Santa Ana, CA) — Orange County Board of Supervisors Chair Janet Nguyen has issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency for the County of Orange due to the severe winter storms currently affecting the county.

The proclamation cites existing conditions related to the storms that began on December 18 as well as forecast weather conditions that may result in flooding, debris flows, utility outages and damage from tidal surge. “Proclaiming an emergency allows the County to request additional resources as needed to respond
to changing conditions,” said Donna Boston, the County’s Emergency Manager.

“The County is actively managing response to any emergency incidents reported and is coordinating its response with all cities in the county. Having the proclamation of local emergency in place widens the County’s response capabilities during these storms.”

The County has also received State approval to operate the two emergency shelter locations on a 24/7 basis during this weather event, offering continuous shelter opportunities for the homeless. The shelters are located in the National Guard armories in Santa Ana at 612 E. Warner and in Fullerton at 400 S. Brookhurst.

County staff will assist with the shelter operations during these extended hours. Orange County residents are encouraged to monitor weather conditions through Wednesday and give special attention to any weather watches or warnings issued for their area.

SANTA ANA, CA – December 16, 2010 — The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) Board of Education, employees, friends and supporters will once again host their annual free Christmas Eve feast to serve families in Santa Ana on Friday, December 24, 2010. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Valley High School located at 1801 Greenville St. in Santa Ana.

Called CENA — Caring Educators Nourishing All — the annual charitable event is organized by SAUSD employees to provide a full holiday meal, toys, and books to area children and families to help make their holiday a memorable one. The effort has been put on for more than 20 years, resulting in over 40,000 served meals and hundreds of toys given away.

Dozens of SAUSD employee volunteers along with their families start their holidays off with the traditional CENA event by volunteering for several hours on Christmas Eve beginning at dawn. Volunteers decorate the school, serve more than 2,000 meals, supervise toy and book selections and help clean up when the day is done. It’s a tradition for eager community families to line up around the block waiting hours before the first meals are served beginning at 9 a.m. A visit from Santa adds to the day’s festivities.

“We’ve been hosting this special event for more than 20 years because employees continue to see the need to help others who may be going through difficult times,” said Board of Education Clerk Dr. Audrey Yamagata-Noji. “They willingly give of themselves and their blessings so that others may also enjoy some holiday cheer. It’s really a heartfelt gesture,” Dr. Yamagata-Noji said.

Santa Ana Unified serves 58,000 students in grades K-12 and employs 5,000 educators and staff members representing 61 school sites in Santa Ana. For more information about SAUSD, log on to www.sausd.us.

I received a phone call today from Sam Romero, a longtime community leader who used to head up SANO, an organization of 13 Santa Ana Neighborhood Organizations. He has run a Catholic curio store called St. Teresa’s Gifts, in the historic 4th Street marketplace, in Santa Ana, for 35 years.

Romero wanted to talk about the Santa Ana PBID – an annual assessment that affects all the businesses in the downtown area. Romero, as it turns out, is one of the businessmen who spearheaded the effort to collect signatures asking the Santa Ana City Council to rescind the PBID.

I wrote a post about the uprising against the PBID a few days ago. In that post I identified Dr. Art Lomeli, a dentist in the downtown area, as one of the leaders of the PBID rebellion. Romero however said that Lomeli was late to jump on this issue. Both Romero and Lomeli supported failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua.

I told Romero that his support for Amezcua is going to make it tough for him to get much attention from City Hall. Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido won easily in November – and he knows full well who opposed him. Romero said he goes way back with Pulido, having been there when Pulido was first elected. Romero said he pined for years for an all-Latino City Council. We have that Council now, but Romero, like Lomeli and Amezcua, has nothing good to say about them.

Romero helped Pulido’s family to save their muffler shop, which is now known as Ace Auto Care, many years ago, when the City Council at that time was trying to destroy it in the name of redevelopment. Romero admitted that Pulido has never forgotten that favor and that he has always been cordial to Romero and his fellow businessmen in the Fiesta Marketplace.

The problem for Romero is that now he is watching his friends go out of business, and he is not happy about that at all. He blames the PBID, which drains thousands of dollars from every business in the area. The problem, says Romero, is that he and his associates get no benefit from the PBID, which is managed by Downtown, Inc., a non-profit marketing association.

Romero points to the recent Downtown Santa Ana Christmas Event, which he said ran from 4 pm to 10 pm. Most of the shops in the Fiesta Marketplace closed at 5 pm that day. “This only benefited the restaurants in the Artists Village,” said Romero.

Romero says that the businesses in the Fiesta Marketplace also have their own assessment, which amounts to a nickel per square foot. They use that money to promote their shopping area. Romero claims that he and his fellow businessmen started the annual Santa Ana Cinco de Mayo event, “but the city took it away from us.”

The Cinco de Mayo event is still held in the 4th St. area. Pulido met with the merchants in that area this year, in advance of the event, as was widely reported in the local Spanish language newspapers. (See a picture of that meeting above this paragraph).

Romero said the City of Santa Ana also took the annual Noche de Altares (Day of the Dead) event away from them. It was a huge event this year – over by the Artists Village.

I took a look at the Fiesta Marketplace website, which includes a list of the businesses in that area. These shops include:

Brian’s Fashion

Fiestamall

Genesis Bridal

Guadalajara Jewelry

Imperial Market

Infinity Plus

Kids Avenue

KV Sports

La Fiesta Shoes

La Paloma Fashion

La Reyna de Michoacan

Mariscos Tampico

Mi Fiesta Party Rental

Moya Bakery

Patty’s Bridal

La Pizza Loca

R and R Sportswear

Roberto’s Shoe Repair

St. Teresas

As you can see, the merchants include quite a few clothing stores, as well as a few eateries and jewelry stores. Their biggest challenge is that the locals can buy similar products, for less, at Wal Mart and Target.

The Fiesta Marketplace website states that “Fiesta Marketplace strives to accurately represent Mexico down to the smallest detail. The restaurants serve delicacies made from traditional, Hispanic recipes, and its stores sell a wide array of foods, toys, clothes, and other goods imported directly from Mexico. A playhouse regularly presents plays and readings in Spanish, and a cinema plays the latest films from Mexico and South America.”

The harsh reality is that many of the immigrants who shopped at the Fiesta Marketplace for years have gone back home, to Mexico and Central America, and some have moved to other States in the U.S., in an attempt to find work and to flee from California’s high cost of living.

Downtown, Inc., has in fact produced many events that were targeted to Latinos, but I don’t know if they succeeded. I do know that they are trying to do the best they can, but it has been a tough year for everyone.

Romero is convinced that the PBID’s ulterior motive is to gentrify 4th St. and to drive the businesses in the Fiesta Marketplace bankrupt.

Romero said he plans to speak at upcoming Santa Ana City Council meetings and that he has asked State Senator Lou Correa to intervene. Correa previously held a public town hall meetings when many local businessmen were upset about the now-defunct Santa Ana Renaissance redevelopment plan.

I have already suggested, in my previous post, that the City Council bring everyone together and rework the PBID. And put it to a new vote. Romero wants it gone, period. I don’t see that happening, to be honest.

Romero cited several examples of businesses losing their shirts, including a parking lot that is not making any money, but is losing thousands to the PBID, every year.

It is worth noting that Pulido’s own family, which still runs their auto shop, also signed Romero’s petition against the PBID.

I don’t know what will become of the Fiesta Marketplace, but they do have an event coming up on January 6. From their website: The first event celebrated in Fiesta Marketplace is the Dia de los Reyes on January 6. The highlight of the event is when the “Reyes Magos” arrive in Fiesta Marketplace. The Reyes Magos give presents to children and in the morning, bread and hot chocolate are given to the public. In the afternoon typical meals from Mexico such as pozole, mole and tamales are given free of charge to the people enjoying the event.

Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers shot and killed a man Thursday who was high on drugs but posed no threat to officers or his family, the victim’s sister-in-law said, according to the L.A. Times/OC Now.

The gun held by Elmer Alexander Perez, 27, turned out to be a replica, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. “There were no safety markings on the gun to indicate it was anything but a real gun,” Bertagna said, as reported by the O.C. Register.

I had a long conversation today with a friend who visited Perez’ family. He saw the bullet holes in the walls. He spoke to Perez’ pregnant wife, whose son saw his daddy die.

Was the shooting justified?

My friend said that the family told the SAPD that Perez was high and was not a threat to anyone but himself. They hoped he would get into rehab. That is not going to happen now.

The problem with such incidents is multifaceted. The police are not trained to wound. They are not equipped to bring a suspect down non-violently. They don’t like to use tasers as it puts them too close to the suspects. And the police know that domestic calls quite often turn into violent episodes that often claim the lives of police officers.

One has to wonder if the nation’s police departments are looking at better ways to arrest people, non-violently.

Cops in Great Britain and in Japan do not carry guns, for the most part. Is that something we should consider here, where so many criminals are armed to the teeth? Is there some other solution?

Back to the Perez case. According to my friend, one of the SAPD cops started asking Perez’ family, after the shooting, if they were here legally. If that is true, I find it most disturbing. I would have to believe that this was an attempt to intimidate this family. The family also reported that a senior officer showed up after the shooting and he yelled at the shooters, asking them why they did not call for back-up. This too was not reported in the Register or in the Times.

Clearly we need to investigate this incident thoroughly. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident, which is standard procedure for any officer-involved shooting, according to ABC News. Can we trust them to be objective? I hope so.

Don’t get me wrong, I think we have a lot of good police officers in town. But if we have some bad apples we need to know. And we need to stop them.